Editorial Responsibilities

Archives of Community Medicine and Public Health (ACMPH) is committed to ensuring the highest standards of editorial integrity and professionalism. The Editorial Board is responsible for upholding the journal’s ethical and academic credibility while ensuring a fair, transparent, and rigorous peer review and publication process.

General Editorial Responsibilities

The Editorial Board of ACMPH has the following core responsibilities:

  • Editorial Independence: Ensure that editorial decisions are made based on academic merit and scientific integrity, free from commercial or political influence.
  • Peer Review Management: Oversee the double-blind peer review process to ensure fair and unbiased evaluation of manuscripts.
  • Manuscript Selection: Ensure that only high-quality and ethical research is published.
  • Plagiarism Screening: Verify the originality of manuscripts using tools such as iThenticate to prevent unethical research practices.
  • Editorial Confidentiality: Maintain strict confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, reviewer identities, and author information.
  • Ethical Oversight: Monitor compliance with global ethical publishing standards, such as those set by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

Peer Review and Manuscript Evaluation

Editors are responsible for overseeing the peer review process to ensure impartiality, transparency, and efficiency:

  • Reviewer Selection: Assign appropriate reviewers with relevant expertise in the field.
  • Unbiased Decision-Making: Make editorial decisions based solely on the scientific quality, originality, and significance of the manuscript.
  • Timely Review Process: Ensure an efficient peer review process and minimize unnecessary delays.
  • Conflicting Reviews: Seek additional expert opinions if reviewers provide conflicting feedback.
  • Revision Oversight: Guide authors in revising their manuscripts based on reviewer comments and journal standards.

Handling Ethical Issues and Research Misconduct

The Editorial Board must take immediate action in cases of suspected research misconduct or ethical breaches:

  • Plagiarism: Manuscripts are screened for plagiarism, and any detected cases result in rejection.
  • Data Fabrication or Falsification: Any evidence of data manipulation leads to manuscript rejection or retraction.
  • Duplicate Submission: Manuscripts under review at another journal will be rejected.
  • Authorship Disputes: Editors mediate conflicts regarding authorship contributions.
  • Retractions and Corrections: If serious ethical issues are found post-publication, the journal follows COPE retraction guidelines to correct or retract articles.

Editorial Transparency and Integrity

Editors must ensure transparency in all aspects of manuscript handling:

  • Clear Communication: Provide timely and constructive feedback to authors.
  • Editorial Decisions: Explain the rationale behind acceptance, revision, or rejection of a manuscript.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Editors must disclose any potential conflicts and recuse themselves from handling such manuscripts.

Publication Ethics and Editorial Conduct

ACMPH follows ethical publishing guidelines set by:

Continuous Improvement and Editorial Development

Editors are encouraged to enhance their editorial expertise through:

  • Workshops and training programs on peer review and ethical publishing.
  • Active participation in editorial board meetings and global editorial forums.
  • Regular updates on emerging trends in academic publishing.

Upholding Editorial Excellence and Ethical Publishing!